UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS. 


COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURAL    EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN 

VALLEY. 


By  G.  W.  SHAW. 


BULLETIN     No.    176. 

(Berkeley,  Cal.,  January  30,  1906.) 


SACRAMENTO : 

W.  W.  SHANNON,  -  -  -  SUPERINTENDENT  STATE  PRINTING 

1906 


BENJAMIN  IDE  WHEELER,  Ph.D.,  LL. ,D.,  President  of the  University, 

EXPERIMENT  STATION  STAFF. 

E.  W.  HILGARD,  Ph.D.,  LL-D.,  Director  and  Chemist.    (Absent  on  leave.) 

E.  J.  WICKSON,  M.A.,  Acting  Director  and  Horticulturist. 

W.  A.  SETCHELL,  Ph.D.,  Botanist. 

ElyWOOD  MEAD,  M.S.,  C.E.,  Irrigation  Engineer. 

C.  W.  WOODWORTH,  M.S.,  Entomologist. 

R.  H.  LOUGHRIDGE,  Ph.D.,  Agricultural  Geologist  and  Soil  Physicist.     (Soils  and  Alkali.) 

M.  E.  JAFFA,  M.S.,  Assistant  Chemist.     (Foods,  Nutrition.) 

G.  W.  SHAW,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Chemist.    (Cereals,  Oils,  Beet-Sugar .), 

GEORGE  E.  COLBY,  M.S.,  Assistant  Chemist.    (Fruits,  Waters,  Insecticides^ 

A.  R.  WARD,  B.S.A.,  D.V.M.,  Veterinarian  and  Bacteriologist . 

E.  W.  MAJOR,  B.Agr.,  Animal  Industry. 

RALPH  E.  SMITH,  B.S.,  Plant  Pathologist. 

E.  H.  TWIGHT,  B.Sc,  Diplom€  E.A.M.,  Viticulturist. 

F.  T.  BIOLETTI,  M.S.,  Viticulturist. 

WARREN  T.  CLARKE,  B.S.,  Assistant  Entomologist  and  Asst.  Supt.  Farmers''  Institutes. 

H.  M.  HALL,  M.S.,  Assistant  Botanist. 

GEORGE  ROBERTS,  M.S.,  Assistant  Chemist,  in  charge  of  Fertilizer  Control. 

C.  M.  HARING,  D.V.M.,  Assistant  Veterinarian  and  Bacteriologist. 
ALBERT  M.  WEST,  B.S.,  Assistant  Plant  Pathologist. 

E.  H.  SMITH,  M.S.,  Assistant  Plant  Pathologist. 

G.  R.  STEWART,  Student  Assistant  in  Station  Laboratory . 
ALICE  R.  THOMPSON,  B.S.,  Assistant  in  Soil  Laboratory. 

D.  I,.  BUNNELL,  Clerk  to  the  Director. 


R.  E-  MANSELL,  Foreman  of  Central  Station  Grounds. 

JOHN  TUOHY,  Patron,      ) 

>     Tulare  Substation,  Tulare. 
J.  FORRER,  Foreman,         ) 

J.  W.  MILLS,  Pomona,  in  charge  Cooperation  Experiments  in  Southern  California . 

J.  W.  ROPER,  Patron, 


irge,      S 


University  Forestrv  Station,  Chico. 
HENRY  WIGHTMAN,  In  chat 

ROY  JONES,  Patron, 

J.  H.  BARBER,  Foremai 

VINCENT  J.  HUNTLEY,  Foreman  of  California  Poultry  Experiment  Station,  Petaluma. 


>      University  Forestrv  Station,  Santa  Monica. 
in,       ) 


The  Station  publications  (Reports  and  Bulletins),  so  long  as  avail- 
able, will  be  sent  to  any  citizen  of  the  State  on  application. 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


The  possibility  of  sugar-beet  culture  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  has 
been  a  matter  of  intermittent  inquiry  from  the  earliest  history  of  the 
sugar-beet  industry  in  California.  The  uncertain  rainfall,  the  extreme 
heat  of  the  summer  months,  and,  until  recent  years,  the  lack  of  facili- 
ties for  irrigation,  have  all  been  factors  militating  against  the  develop- 
ment of  the  industry  in  that  portion  of  the  State.  Naturally  the  industry 
was  first  drawn  to  the  coast  counties,  and  largely  on  account  of  the 
more  certain  moisture  conditions. 

Within  the  past  two  years,  however,  there  has  been  a  renewed  interest 
shown  in  the  industry  generally,  and  with  it  has  come  frequent  inquiries 
of  its  probable  success  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley. 

Ever  since  1887  the  Experiment  Station  has  directed  more  or  less 
attention  at  times  to  the  analysis  of  sugar  beets  grown  in  the  region  in 
question.  The  miscellaneous  analyses,  however,  give  practically  no 
particulars  as  to  cultural  conditions,  from  which  fact  it  becomes  well- 
nigh  impossible  to  form  a  fair  judgment  as  to  their  bearing,  further 
than  to  decide  whether  or  not  the  samples  as  they  stood  would  be 
acceptable  for  sugar-making  purposes.  An  examination  in  detail  of  the 
analyses  published  in  the  Reports  reveals  generally  a  very  poor  showing 
for  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  but  when  we  consider  that  persons  growing 
these  beets  were  without  experience  in  beet  growing;  that  the  time  of 
application  of  water  influences  much  the  sugar-content  of  the  beet  at 
maturity,  and  that  nothing  is  stated  as  to  this  important  point  although 
many  of  the  samples  must  have  been  grown  under  irrigation;  and  still 
further,  that  a  number  of  the  samples  were  either  immature  or  had 
started  a  second  growth,  and  still  others  had  been  grown  upon  soil 
stronger  in  alkali  than  would  be  suitable  for  beets  for  sugar  purposes, 
the  writer  does  not  believe  that  the  results  given  in  the  record  of  routine 
analyses  made  of  samples  sent  to  the  Station,  at  all  fairly  represent 
the  possibilities  of  sugar-beet  culture  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  under 
proper  conditions.  However,  a  review  of  all  these  earlier  analyses  is 
given  in  the  appendix  to  this  bulletin,  in  order  that  the  entire  results 
of  the  Station  may  be  in  convenient  form  for  ready  reference. 

This  bulletin  aims  to  give  the  results  of  field  observations  in  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  and  analyses  connected  therewith,  since  1902.  This  is 
considered  the  more  important  since  quite  extensive  operations  in  beet 
culture  conducted  there  in  1902,  and  again  in  1905,  resulted  in  much 
disappointment  and  loss  to  the  parties  interested,  including  both  manu- 
facturers and  growers. 

In  the  writer's  experience  it  has  become  apparent  that  the  immediate 
problem  of  probable  success  or  failure  of  an  agricultural  industry  can 
not  be  fully  determined  from  mere  scientific  investigation  at  a  given 


UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA— EXPERIMENT   STATION. 


place.  One  must  be  in  a  position  to  correlate  and  compare  conditions 
under  which  the  industry  has  already  met  with  success,  if  he  would 
arrive  at  a  just  conclusion,  and  then  comparison  must  be  made  with 
special  reference  to  climatic  and  soil  conditions.  It  is  along  this  line 
that  the  writer  has  made  an  effort  to  determine  the  underlying  reasons 
for  some  of  the  failures  in  the  attempt  to  grow  beets  successfully  in 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  by  studying  the  conditions  of  the  fields  them- 
selves, supplemented  by  analyses  of  the  beets  produced,  and  his  con- 
clusions are  here  set  forth. 

The  particular  attention  of  the  writer  was  first  directed  to  beet  culture 
in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  in  1902  in  connection  with  some  extensive 
plantings  of  beets  in  the  vicinity  of  Bethany. 

The  land  on  which  these  beets  were  planted  was  of  the  character 
known  as  "fresh-water  tule,"  of  clay  loam  character,  and  poor  in 
humus,  which  was  owing  probably  to  the  comparatively  recent  burning 
of  the  ground  to  remove  the  heavy  growth  of  "tules."  Otherwise  the 
soil  was  of  good  quality,  rich  in  phosphoric  acid  and  lime,  and  fairly 
well  supplied  with  potash.  An  attempt  was  made  to  irrigate  the  land 
by  temporary  checks  and  flooding,  but  no  serious  attention  was  given 
toward  getting  the  land  into  proper  shape  for  an  equal  distribution  of 
the  water  in  the  soil;  and  inasmuch  as  the  land  was  quite  uneven,  the 
quantity  of  available  water  in  the  soil  must  have  been  very  unequal 
indeed,  resulting  in  a  "patchy  appearance  of  the  crop." 

Much  of  the  land  was  rather  poorly  drained,  resulting  in  a  high 
water-table  in  the  early  part  of  the  season,  so  that  planting  was  impos- 
sible at  the  proper  time — a  matter  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  which  is 
of  the  highest  importance,  as  will  appear  later.  The  result  of  this  late 
planting,  coupled  with  a  lack  of  sufficient  free  moisture  at  all  times  of 
the  growing  season,  was  fatal  to  the  crop,  the  average  yield  of  the  section 
being  exceedingly  low.  The  sugar-content  and  purity  of  the  beets,  how- 
ever, were  all  that  could  be  desired,  as  shown  from  analyses  made  by 
the  writer,  and  also  from  analyses  made  upon  delivery  of  the  beets  at 

the  factory. 

Sugar  Beets  from  Burke  Ranch,  Bethany,  1902. 


3 

C5 


A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
X 
XX 


Harvested. 


September  26 
September  26 
September  26 
September  26 
September  26 
September  26 
September  26 
September  26 
September  26 


Average  Weight. 


Grams. 


Average 


467 
480 
345 
443 
742 
348 
442 
450 
388 

456 


Ounces 


16.4 
16.9 
12.1 
15.6 
26.1 
12.2 
15.5 
15.8 
13.6 

16.0 


Brix. 


20.2 
18.8 
20.0 
17.7 
19.2 
19.8 
20.2 
19.5 
18.7 

19.3 


Sugar. 


In  Juice. 


Puritv. 


In  Beet. 


17.5 
16.2 
17.1 
14.7 
16.1 
16.3 
17.8 
15.0 
15.0 

16.2 


16.J 

86.3 

14.9 

86.2 

15.7 

85.7 

13.5 

82.7 

14.9 

83.6 

15.0 

82.3 

16.3 

87.8 

13.8 

76.9 

13.8 

80.2 

14.9 

83.5 

Yield 
Per  Acre. 


7.14 
4.86 
3.00 
3.96 


4.74 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY.  5 

All  of  these  samples  except  X  would  be  regarded  as  excellent  beets 
for  factory  purposes,  especially  so  on  account  of  their  high  purity.  The 
low  yield  is  accounted  for  by  the  lateness  of  planting  and  the  effect  on 
the  beets  of  the  hot  weather  characterizing  the  entire  valley.  In  their 
early  growth  the  beets  were  stunted,  and  they  never  recovered  from  the 
effects  of  this  set-back. 

These  beets  were  sown  in  May,  when  they  should  have  been  sown  in 
March.     The  result  was  that  when  the  beets  were  thinned  the  young 


Planted  in  May. 
FIG.  1.    Showing  result  of  early  and  late  planting  of  beets  at  Bethany. 

plants  were  suddenly  exposed  to  the  high  temperatures  of  the  region, 
which  was  disastrous  to  their  later  growth. 

The  disastrous  result,  so  far  as  yield  was  concerned,  caused  the  com- 
pany to  cease  operations  at  the  end  of  the  season. 

The  next  serious  attempt  at  beet  planting  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
was  made  in  1905,  when  something  over  3,000  acres  of  beets  were 
planted  in  Stanislaus  and  Merced  counties.  A  very  few  of  these  plant- 
ings were  made  in  March,  but  by  far  the  larger  area  was  planted  much 
later,  extending  even  to  June.  Throughout  the  season  the  writer 
endeavored  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  field  operations,  especially  as 
most  of  the  work  was  being  done  in  a  manner  which  he  believed  con- 


(i  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

trary  to  rational  consideration  for  the  production  of  the  crop.  The 
natural  precipitation  of  moisture  was  decidedly  favorable  to  the  industry 
in  the  early  part  of  the  season,  and  in  nearly  every  case  a  good  stand  of 
beets  was  obtained. 

During  the  growing  season  the  writer  made  several  trips  to  the  region 
for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  conditions  to  enable  proper  compari- 
son to  be  made  with  other  localities  in  which  beet-growing  has  been 
successful. 

At  the  outset  it  may  be  summarily  stated  that  the  failure  of  the  crop 
in  1905  in  the  Modesto-Merced  region  was  due  to  several  factors,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned:  (1)  Too  late  planting;  (2)  Poor  preparation 
of  the  soil  for  irrigation;  (3)  Poor  cultivation;  (4)  Failure  to  irrigate 
at  the  proper  time;   (5)   Effect  of  "blight." 

It  is  always  true  that  individual  growers  unfamiliar  with  the  beet  as 
a  sugar-producing  plant  make  numerous  mistakes  in  its  culture;  but 
it  is  seldom  that  a  portion,  probably  the  entire  planting,  is  so  seriously 
affected  as  that  in  the  region  under  consideration.  Lest  other  attempts, 
especially  those  just  now  starting,  be  wrecked  on  the  same  shoals,  it  is 
well  to  examine  carefully  the  conditions  essential  for  success  in  sugar- 
beet  production,  and  to  measure  the  operations  of  last  season  against 
them. 

In  the  first  place,  the  farmer  who  begins  the  growing  of  sugar  beets 
for  sugar  purposes  finds  himself  face  to  face  with  a  crop  demanding 
treatment  much  different  from  that  of  any  he  has  been  accustomed  to 
grow,  and  is  usually  slow  to  adopt  new  methods.  He  must  grow  beets 
within  certain  limits  of  size,  purity  of  juice,  and  of  satisfactory  sugar-con- 
tent. He  has  to  deal  with  a  crop  in  wmich  quality  is  much  more  of  a 
factor  than  with  most  other  crops. 

The  growing  of  sugar  beets  is  not  agriculture,  but  horticulture,  and 
for  this  reason  alone  demands  much  more  attention  to  detail,  and  more 
intensive  culture,  than  any  agricultural  crop. 

The  sugar  beet  is  a  delicate,  high-bred  plant,  and  will  resent  very 
decidedly  anj^  neglect  by  immediately  showing  a  reduction  in  either 
sugar-content,  purity,  or  tonnage.  Hence  the  extreme  importance  of 
giving  the  most  careful  attention  to  details  in  growing  this  crop — details 
which,  with  any  other  crop  than  a  horticultural  one,  would  be  consid- 
ered of  small  consequence. 

QUALITY    OF    BEETS. 

Experience  has  very  conclusively  shown  that  beets  are  unfit  for  the 
profitable  manufacture  of  sugar  unless  they  carry  at  least  12  per  cent 
of  sugar  in  the  beet  and  have  a  juice  purity  as  high  as  80  per  cent,  and 
even  such  beets  are  not  looked  upon  favorably  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses unless  the  larger  part  of  the  product  exceeds  this,  for  with  beets 
of  such  low  quality  the  cost  of  manufacture  is  very  greatly  increased. 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF   CALIFORNIA— EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


The  first  question  to  be  settled,  then,  is  as  to  the  quality  of  the  beets. 
If  they  appear  no  better  than  the  minimum  stated  above,  then  it  would 
certainly  be  unwise  to  attempt  the  commercial  production  of  the  crop 
in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley. 

To  answer  this  question  it  is  only  necessary  to  examine  certain  anal- 
yses of  beets  grown  in  1905,  and  also  to  add  those  of  1902  as  further 
evidence. 

There  may  also  be  taken  into  account  the  results  of  certain  analyses 
made  upon  carload  lots  of  beets  shipped  from  a  few  of  the  earlier 
planted  fields  in  the  vicinity  of  Turlock  to  one  of  the  sugar  factories 
of  the  State. 


3 

c 

B 
- 


12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 


Date. 


August  31 

September  2 
September  4 
September  7 
September  11 
September  8 
September  26 

Average  ... 


Locality. 


Turlock. 
Turlock. 
Turlock. 
Turlock. 
Turlock . 
Merced  . 
Merced  . 


Average  Weight. 

Sugar  in 
Beets  (by 
alcohol). 

Grams. 

Ounces. 

409 

14.4 

16.6 

795 

28.0 

13.6 

724 

25.5 

14.9 

568 

20.0 

16.0 

491 

17.3 

18.8 

497 

17.5 

15.0 

858 

29.5 

11.6 

620 

21.7 

15.2 

Purity 


86.6 
82.9 
84.1 
91.4 
90.9 
83.3 
76.7 


85.1 


If,  now,  we  consider  the  average  of  the  analyses  made  in  1902  in 
connection  with  those  of  1905,  we  find  the  average  quality  of  the  beets 
as  follows: 

1902.  1905. 

Average  weight  of  beets,  grams 456  794 

Sugar  in  juice,  per  cent 16.2  17.6 

Sugar  in  beets,  per  cent 14.9  16.2 

Purity  of  juice,  per  cent 83.9  86.5 

Thus  it  appears  plain  that  the  quality  of  the  beets  produced  in  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley  is  likely  to  be  extremely  good  both  as  to  sugar  and 
purity. 

The  considerations,  then,  would  seem  to  narrow  themselves  to  those 
of  a  purely  cultural  nature.  There  are  certain  factors  which  must 
always  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  establishment  of  the 
growing  of  beets  in  any  locality.  Prominent  among  these  may  be 
mentioned  climate,  including  temperatures,  percentages  of  sunshine, 
and  moisture;  soils  and  their  preparation,  and  finally  the  after-cultiva- 
tion; and,  if  in  an  arid  or  semi-arid  region,  the  irrigation  of  the  crop. 


CLIMATIC    CONDITIONS. 


It  is  generally  considered  that  the  highest  return  of  sugar  per  acre  is 
given  where  the  mean  summer  temperature  is  not  far  from  70°,  and 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY.  9 

* 

where  the  rainfall  is  from  2  to  4  inches  per  month  during  the  growing 
period,  and  where  heavy  rains  do  not  occur  during  the  ripening  period, 
the  occurrence  of  such  rains  at  the  time  indicated  tending  to  lower  the 
sugar-content  of  the  root. 

While  these  conditions  have  generally  been  held  as  the  most  ideal, 
yet  the  success  in  America  under  conditions  which  vary  considerably  from 
those  above  indicated,  especially  as  to  rainfall,  seem  to  show  that  they 
must  not  be  regarded  as  being  absolute,  and  that  the  beet  has  a  somewhat 
wider  range  of  adaptability  to  climatic  conditions  than  has  been  claimed 
by  European  authorities;  and  that,  within  certain  limits,  our  ideas 
should  be  formed  from  the  conditions  under  which  the  industry  has  met 
with  success  in  this  country. 

Certain  it  is  that  drought  must  be  avoided,  and  where  frequent 
summer  rains  do  not  occur,  nor  heavy  fogs  and  dews,  the  soil  must  be 
of  such-  a  nature  as  to  retain  free  moisture  in  liberal  quantity;  or,  the 
moisture  must  be  supplied  by  irrigation,  both  of  which  conditions  hold 
in  certain  parts  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  the  latter  in  Colorado,  Utah, 
and  California. 

Abundance  of  sunshine  is  also  essential  to  the  highest  development 
of  sugar  in  the  beet.  Other  things  being  equal,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
richness  of  the  beet  will  be  proportional  to  the  amount — not  intensity — 
of  the  sunshine. 

In  the  introduction  of  any  new  crop  it  is  always  essential  to  examine 
the  temperature  conditions  that  we  may  know  how  closely  they  conform 
to  those  which  obtain  in  those  regions  where  the  industry  is  already  on 
a  firm  footing.  Under  other  conditions  the  industry  must  always  be 
something  of  an  experiment.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  closer 
the  conditions  of  climate  and  soil  approximate  those  under  which  the 
industry  is  already  being  conducted  with  marked  success  the  greater  will 
be  the  chance  of  ultimate  success  in  the  new  regions. 

The  people  of  the  Modesto-Merced  region  undertook  to  look  into  the 
matter  before  entering  upon  the  growing  of  beets  by  sending  repre- 
sentatives to  visit  Salinas  to  ascertain  how  the  farmers  were  satisfied 
with  the  crop,  and  such  other  information  as  they  could  obtain,  and 
their  report  was  favorable  to  the  industry.  Unfortunately,  conditions 
in  the  coast  counties  are  vastly  different  from  those  which  obtain  in  the 
interior  valleys.  A  lack  of  proper  appreciation  of  these  great  differ- 
ences of  temperature,  in  connection  with  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  the 
peculiarities  of  the  beet  plant  and  very  marked  errors  in  time  of  plant- 
ing, lead  to  disastrous  results.  It  was  agreed  that  because  late  planting 
can  be  safely  done  in  the  Salinas  region,  it  would  also  be  safe  to  do  so  in 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  and  under  this  thought  planting  was  continued 
even  to  disregarding  entirely  a  consideration  of  the  great  differences  in 
both  climate  and  soil. 


10 


UNIVERSITY   OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT   STATION. 


These  differences  are  graphically  represented  in  Fig.  2,  which  shows 
the  mean  monthly  normal  and  the  mean  monthly  maximum  temperatures, 
as  well  as  the  average  number  of  days  for  each  month  of  the  growing 
season,  for  Salinas,  CaL,  Rocky  Ford,  Colo.,  and  Chino,  Cal.,  in  compar- 
ison with  the  same  factors  for  Fresno  as  representative  of  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley.     A  comparison  of  the  curves  for  Modesto  and  Merced   showed 


no    March       April  May        June        July        August    September 


FIG.  2.    Temperature  conditions  at  Fresno  compared  with  successful  beet-growing  sections. 


each  to  be  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  Fresno,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
following  table: 

Mean  Maximum  of  Modesto  and  Fresno  Compared. 

Modesto.  Fresno. 

March 67.5°  66.0° 

April 71.0  72.5 

May.^ 82.0  81.5 

June 94.0  94.0 

July 96.5  99.0 

August 96.5  96.5 

September 90.0  90.0 

The  same  was  also  found  to  be  true  with  reference  to  the  average 
number  of  days  in  each  month  registering  over  90°. 

From  the  curves  it  will  be  noted  that  the  normal  temperature  of 
Salinas  is  from  10°  to  20°  lower  than  that  of  Fresno,  which  is  also  true 
of  the  mean  maximum  temperature,  and  that  during  the  growing  season 
at  Salinas  there  are  but  two  or  three  days  out  of  each  month  in  which 
the  temperature  reaches  90°,  whereas  in  the  region  in  question  for  the 
three  months  of  June,  July,  and  August  there  are  from  24  to  28  days 
in  each  month  in  which  the  temperature  reaches  90°. 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


11 


Looking  for  conditions  more  nearly  approximating  those  of  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  we  find  them  in  the  irrigated  region  of  Utah,  Colorado, 
and  at  Chino,  Cal.,  with  low  humidity  and  a  high  percentage  of  sun- 
shine. Chino,  perhaps,  represents  as  high  a  temperature  under  which 
beets  are  grown  as  any  place  in  the  world,  and  there  trouble  often 
occurs,  unless  the  beets  are  planted  previous  to  April.  It  will  be  noted 
that  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  the  temperature  runs  5°  higher  as  a 
normal,  and  10°  as  a  maximum,  than  at  Chino.  Notwithstanding  this, 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley  planting  was  continued  even  until  June.  This 
was  perhaps  the  most 
serious  error  made  in  the 
Modesto-Merced  region  in 
1905  and  in  the  Bethany 
region  in  1902,  and  to  it 
can  be  attributed  much 
of  the  failure  to  produce 
a  crop.  When  we  recall 
this  high  temperature, 
beginning  in  May,  it  does 
not  appear  at  all  strange 
that  when  the  late-planted 
beets  were  thinned  to  8 
or  10  inches  apart  in  the 
row,  as  is  the  practice  (a 
necessary  condition  of 
beet  culture)  in  a  temper- 
ature of  90°,  the  young 
plants  should  early  suc- 
cumb, and  on  the  lighter 
sandy  soils  be  literally 
burned  up.  One  could 
expect  nothing  else. 

Had  the  planting  been 
done  previous  to  April  1st,  the  young  beets  would  have  attained  some 
growth  before  the  extremely  hot  weather  came  on.  While  such  late 
planting  may  occur  in  the  coast  region,  it  is  simply  suicidal  in  the 
interior  valleys,  for  the  reasons  already  cited.  To  overcome  the  extreme 
temperature  conditions  of  the  interior  it  will  he  necessary  to  plant  very 
early  in  the  season.  There  is  no  apparent  reason  why  plantings  of  beets 
in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  can  not  take  place  as  early  as  February, 
thus  allowing  the  beets  to  acquire  some  size  and  to  shade  the  ground 
somewhat  before  the  extreme  heat  of  the  summer  months  begins. 

The  effect  which  the  early  planting  would  have  in  reducing  the  tem- 


FIG.  3.    Early   planted   beets  at   Reedley.     Irrigated   in 
rows  four  times. 


12 


UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA  — EXPERIMENT   STATION. 


perature  at  corresponding  periods  of    the  beet's  growth  may  be  seen 
by  comparing  the  curves  shown  below: 


■  i/o    /larch        Apr/'/         /lay 


Jurii 


t/u/y  August     (5ep/en?be/. 


FIG  4.    Showing  change  in  temperature  condition  by  early  planting. 

From  the  above  curve  it  will  be  noted  that  in  planting  by  the  middle 
of  February  instead  of  in  May  there  would  be  a  lowering  of  the  mean 
maximum  temperature  nearly  20°  at  the  period  of  thinning — a  very 
important  point  as  an  element  of  safety  to  the  crop. 

There  were  a  few  fields,  visited  by  the  writer,  planted  in  February 
and  the  early  part  of  March,  the  yield  of  which  was  estimated  at  from 
8  to  12  tons  per  acre,  while  none  of  the  late-planted  fields  made  suffi- 
cient growth  to  warrant  further  attention  after  a  few  weeks.  Successful 
beet  culture  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  will  require  seeding  not  later  than 
April  1st,  and  preferably  considerably  earlier. 

Moisture. — The  locality  in  question  is  one  which  may  be  classed  as 
semi-arid,  in  that  the  rainfall  is  limited,  seldom  amounting  to  over 
8  inches  per  annum,  and  this  practically  all  falls  between  October  and 


FIG.  5.    Early  and  late  planted  beets  at  Turlock. 


April.  In  many  cases  growers  held  the  idea  that  beets  could  be  produced 
without  irrigation,  but  the  folly  of  attempting  this,  even  in  so  favorable 
a  season  as  1905,  so  far  as  moisture  is  concerned,  is  well  shown  from  the 
almost  total  failure  of  all  the  fields  of  late-planting  in  which  there  had 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


13 


not  been  some  kind  of  irrigation  of  the  crop,  however  crude  may  have 
been  the  attempt.  The  idea  that  the  crop  could  be  produced  without 
irrigation  seems  to  have  come  from  drawing  conclusions  from  the  general 
practice  in  certain  coast  regions.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however, 
that  the  sugar  beet  is  a  plant  requiring  a  relatively  large  amount  of 
moisture;  and  further,  that  the  climatic  conditions  of  the  coast  region 
and  of  the  interior  valleys  are  entirely  different.  In  the  former  there 
is  generally  a  heavier  winter  precipitation,  and  above  all  there  are 
heavy  fogs  extending  over  a  considerable  part  of  the  growing  periods 
of  the  beet;  a  lower  temperature  and  a  more  humid  atmosphere;  but 
even  here  irrigation  is  often  found  essential.  Except  under  the  condi- 
tions named  for  the  coast  section  from  8  to  10  inches  of  rainfall  could 
never  be  considered  as  sufficient  for  maturing  a  crop  of  sugar  beets.  It 
is  often  not  realized  how  much  water  crops  require  for  their  perfect 
development.     To  illustrate,  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  it  requires 


* 

?\  1    a 

f-  ' 

FIG.  6.    Beets  on  subirrigated  land,  Turlock. 

from  300  to  500  tons  of  water  to  mature  one  ton  of  dry  vegetable  matter. 
It  has  been  shown  in  Wisconsin  that  it  requires  over  1,000  tons  of  water 
per  acre  to  produce  a  two-ton  crop  of  oat  hay — corresponding  to 
about  9  inches  of  rainfall.  Taking  European  and  American  experi- 
ence it  may  be  said  that  on  an  average  there  is  required  about 
350  times  the  weight  of  dry  matter  produced.  Sugar  beets  require 
more  water  than  most  crops,  on  account  of  their  large  leaf  surface. 
In  the  dry  atmosphere  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  sugar  beets 
should  probably  not  have  less  than  500  times  the  dry  matter 
produced,  to  be  under  favorable  conditions.  In  the  light  soils  of  the 
region  in  question,  with  their  heavy  losses  of  moisture  due  to  percola- 
tion and  prevailing  dry  winds,  it  is  the  writer's  belief  that  nothing- 
short  of  the  equivalent  of  20  inches  of  rainfall  could  be  considered  at 
all  safe  for  a  sugar-beet  crop. 

It  has  been  advocated  to  plant  in  the  fall,  but  this  would  probably  be 
unwise,  on  account  of  the  tendency  which  the  beets  have  to  throw  out 
seed-stalks  after  passing  the  winter,  becoming  woody  and  difficult  to 


14  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

cut  in  the  factory;  therefore,  the  writer  would  not  regard  with  favor  the 
attempt  to  seed  in  the  fall. 

In  much  the  larger  number  of  cases,  so  far  as  early  planted  beets 
were  concerned,  the  failure  of  the  crop  was  attributable  to  a  lack  of  the 
proper  application  of  irrigation  water — the  beets  had  simply  dried  up. 
In  such  fields  as  were  reasonably  early  planted  and  had  been  given 
anything  like  a  reasonable  amount  of  water,  or  such  as  were  planted 
upon  subirrigated  land,  there  were  always  to  be  found  enough  beets  to 
indicate  wherein  lay  the  trouble,  and  on  the  subirrigatcd  lands  there 
was  generally  to  be  found  a  fair  crop  for  the  first  season. 

The  fields  shown  in  Fig.  6  are  typical  of  most  of  the  fields  upon  subirri- 
gated  lands,  and  Fig.  3  shows  the  condition  of  a  field  that  had  been 
reasonably  irrigated.  Such  fields  as  these,  which  are  typical  of  a  num- 
ber of  similar  ones  occurring  in  the  same  region  with  such  a  general 
failure,  are  indeed  encouraging,  and  indicate  that  the  results  of  1905 
should  not  be  looked  upon  as  indicating  the  impossibility  of  sugar-beet 
production  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  when  a  rational  system  of  culture 
is  followed. 

The  Percentage  of  Sunshine.  —  One  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the  great 
success  of  beet  culture  in  the  north  of  France  and  in  Germany  is  the 
great  length  of  the  day,  as  well  as  a  very  equable  distribution  of  tem- 
perature. The  mean  length  of  the  summer  days  at  Lille,  France,  is 
15.67  hours,  and  in  Germany  15.85  hours.  There  is  thus  a  very  large 
proportion  of  sunlight  in  these  regions.  This  also  characterizes  the 
arid  and  semi-arid  section  of  the  United  States,  where  beet  growing  has 
met  with  success  in  the  production  of  high-grade  beets.  The  production 
of  sugar  is  solely  a  function  of  the  leaf  under  the  influence  of  sunlight, 
therefore  those  sections  possessing  a  large  percentage  of  sunshine  have 
much  advantage  over  many  sections  of  the  country.  For  this  same 
reason  we  may  expect  in  general  that  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  will  pro- 
duce beets  richer  in  sugar  than  the  coast  sections.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  hot  days  will  tend  to  ripen  the  crop  prematurely,  and  thus  endanger 
it  from  second  growth,  unless  care  is  taken  to  keep  the  beet  constantly 
growing  by  the  presence  of  sufficient  moisture  in  the  soil. 

PREPARATION    OF    THE    SOIL. 

Another  factor  which  militated  against  the  crop  of  1905  was  the  lack 
of  proper  preparation  of  the  soil.  Except  possibly  on  the  naturally  sub- 
irrigated  and  bottom  lands,  irrigation  is  a  sine  qua,  non  for  successful 
sugar-beet  culture  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley. 

In  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  as  in  all  other  regions,  when  irrigation 
of  the  beet  crop  during  the  growing  season  is  to  be  practiced  the  land 
must  be  carefully  graded-   much  more   carefully    than  for  alfalfa  cul- 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


15 


ture — for  the  irrigation  of  the  growing  crop,  especially  during  its  early 
stages,  must  be  done  in  furrows.  Irrigation  of  the  land  previous  to 
seeding,  or  even  irrigation  of  the  crop  when  nearly  grown,  may  be  by 
Hooding,  but  the  earlier  irrigations  must  be  in  furrows.  This  requires 
that  the  land  be  very  carefully  graded  previous  to  seeding,  for  it  can 
not  be  done  later.  The  effect  of  the  kind  of  irrigation  that  was 
attempted  in  numerous  cases  is  well  illustrated  in  Fig.  7. 

The  condition  shown  in  the  illustration  below  (Fig.  7)  was  increased 
in  many  cases  from  the  tendency  of  the  land  to  settle  when  it  became 
thoroughly  wet  from  irrigation  water.  The  poor  work  of  grading, 
heightened  by  the  un evenness  caused  by  settling  of  the  land,  made  it 


FIG 


.  7.    Poor  preparation  of  soil  for  row  irrigation. 


absolutely  impossible  in  many  cases  to  irrigate  the  beets  by  the  furrow 
method,  and  from  flooding  the  heavier  soil  it  soon  became  so  com- 
pact as  to  greatly  retard  the  growth  of  such  crops  as  showed  anything 
like  a  promise  of  growth.  Flooding  has  always  proven  undesirable  for 
a  growing  beet  crop.  The  practice  is  only  suitable  for  the  irrigation  of 
land  previous  to  seeding,  under  which  system  it  is  often  successful,  and 
if  thoroughly  done  on  many  of  the  soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley, 
where  associated  with  early  planting,  might  possibly  replace  furrow  irri- 
gation and  thus  lessen  the  cost  of  producing  the  crop.  In  many  cases 
the  crops  could  have  been  saved  if  they  had  been  irrigated  as  soon  as 
they  called  for  moisture. 

Irrigation. — For  the  successful  irrigation  of  the  sugar-beet  crop  there 
are  some  fundamental  characteristics  of  the  plant  that  must  be  consid- 


16  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA— EXPERIMENT   STATION. 

ered,  for  by'the  wrong  use  of  water  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  absolutely 
ruin  a  beet  crop.  On  the  other  hand,  other  factors  being  favorable,  water 
applied  at  the  right  time  in  the  life  history  of  the  plant  will  absolutely 
insure  a  large  and  profitable  crop.  In  respect  to  moisture,  the  sugar 
beet  is  peculiar  in  some  respects,  viz.,  in  that  it  will  get  along  with  less 
of  it,  and  will  stand  more  of  it,  than  most  of  the  other  field  crops. 
This  statement  needs  some  explanation,  however,  for  while  technically 
true  it  is  also  true  that  the  crop  may  be  entirely  ruined  by  a  too  liberal 
application  of  water,  or  by  its  application  at  the  wrong  time  in  the  life 
of  the  plant.  There  are  three  periods  in  the  life  history  of  the  sugar 
beet  which  demand  entirely  different  treatments  so  far  as  moisture  is 
concerned: 

(1st)  The  germinating  or  plantlet  period,  embracing  the  time  from 
planting  until  the  plant  has  four  leaves. 

(2d)  The  growing  period,  in  which  the  form  and  size  of  the  plant  is 
developed. 

(3d)  The  sugar-storing  period,  in  which  the  sugar  is  elaborated  from 
the  air. 

In  the  first  period  the  necessary  condition  is  that  the  beet  seed  should 
have  sufficient  moisture  and  warmth  to  germinate  and  start  it,  but  never 
an  excess. 

After  the  plant  has  developed  four  leaves,  for  two  months  or  so  it 
should  be  given  a  considerable  amount  of  moisture  in  order  that  it  may 
develop  in  size.  Yet  even  in  this  period  it  may  be  spoiled  in  form  by 
a  too  liberal  application  of  water. 

When  the  plant  is  young  its  natural  tendency  is  to  send  its  tap-root 
deep  into  the  soil  to  procure  moisture,  and  this  is  the  time  that  the  form 
of  the  beet  is  set.  If  water  at  the  surface  is  given  too  soon  and  too 
lavishly  at  the  beginning  of  this  period,  the  form  of  the  root  is  ruined,, 
for  the  plant  will  have  too  strong  a  tendency  to  rely  upon  the  artificial 
surface  moisture  rather  than  to  seek  the  natural  moisture  of  the  soil 
below,  becoming  thus  a  short,  stubby  or  sprangling  beet,  altogether 
undesirable.  The  beet  may  show  a  tendency  to  droop  its  leaves  and 
become  lighter  in  color,  but  this  does  not  indicate  that  irrigation  is 
needed.  In  the  early  stages  of  the  plant,  irrigation  must  not  be  resorted 
to  until  there  is  an  absolute  demand  for  it.  Wilting  of  the  leaves  in  the 
heat  of  day  does  not  indicate  the  need,  of  water.  If  the  leaves  recover 
their  vigor  in  the  evening  it  is  sufficient  evidence  that  its  wants  in  this- 
direction  are  supplied.  When  it  really  needs  water  the  leaves  will  droop 
and  become  darker  in  color,  and  will  not  recover  their  vigor  in  the 
evening. 

Having  attained  the  size  desirable,  the  beet  needs  little  if  any 
moisture.  The  rapid  sugar-storing  begins  about  a  hundred  days  after 
planting,  and  when  maturity  approaches  the  plant  should  be  given  no- 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


17 


water.  The  conditions  desirable  at  this  period  are  plenty  of  light  and 
dry  cool  weather.  If  the  beet  is  given  moisture  to  any  considerable 
extent  at  this  time,  it  will  be  at  the  expense  of  both  sugar  and  purity. 
Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  irrigation  before  planting  should 
suffice  to  keep  the  beets  growing  until  after  they  are  thinned,  and  the 
first  irrigation  of  the  crop  should  be  delayed  as  long  as  possible,  even 
if  the  young  plants  should  suffer  slightly,  as  they  will  then  form  a 
good  long  tap-root  in  their  search  for  moisture  in  the  subsoil,  while  if 
watered  too  early,  a  net  of  fine  side  roots  will  grow  and  the  opportunity 
for  the  formation  of  the  tap-root,  which  is  of  such  great  importance 
for  the  further  growth  of  the  beets,  is  lost.     As  soon  as  the   young 


FIG.  8.    Row  irrigation  of  sugar  beets. 


plants  show  the  need  of  water  the  furrows  are  scraped  out  with  the 
shovels  attached  to  the  cultivators  and  the  field  is  carefully  irrigated, 
running  the  water  this  first  time  only  in  every  second  row,  pains  being- 
taken  not  to  flood  the  land,  but  giving  it  a  thorough  subirrigation, 
thus  encouraging  the  downward  growth  of  the  roots.  This  careful 
irrigation  will  have  to  be  repeated  during  the  season  once  or  twice 
more,  running  the  water  in  every  roiv  between  the  beets;  but  after  the 
third  irrigation  less  danger  is  connected  with  the  water  passing  over 
the  rows  and  coming  in  direct  touch  with  the  beets. 

After  each  irrigation  the  furrows  should  be  stirred  to  loosen  the  soil 

i 

which  has  been  packed  by  the  water,  and  the  cultivator  should  be  used 
freely  as  long  as  the  leaves  of  the  plants  are  not  too  large  to  interfere 
with  the  work.  Prior  to  every  irrigation  the  furrows  should  be  opened 
up  with  the  cultivator,  and  after  the  last  cultivation  the  furrows  must 


18  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

be  scraped  out  once  more  for  the  purpose  of  later  irrigation.  This 
work  must  be  finished  before  the  leaves  are  becoming  too  large,  so  that 
there  is  plenty  of  room  for  the  shovels  to  pass  between  the  rows  with- 
out injuring  the  tops  of  the  plants. 

As  to  the  number  of  irrigations  which  are  required  to  mature  a  beet 
orop,  no  definite  answer  can  be  given,  as  this  will  depend  entirely  upon 
the  quality  of  the  soil,  slope  of  the  land,  subsoil,  location  of  the  field, 
and  the  amount  of  spring  and  summer  rain,  as  well  as  the  temperature 
of  the  atmosphere  during  the  growing  season. 

After  the  first  irrigation  the  beet  requires  a  damp  soil,  and  therefore 
the  plants  should  never  suffer  for  want  of  moisture  thereafter.  Should 
the  soil  become  too  dry  through  neglect  to  water  the  crop  when  it  calls 
for  it,  the  growth  of  the  root  will  be  stopped  and  the  latter  becomes 
soft  and  spongy;  and  if  irrigated  after  it  has  reached  this  stage  of 
drought  it  will  grow  anew,  and  this  second  growth  will  materially 
decrease  the  purity  and  sugar-content  of  the  beet.  Therefore,  the  land 
should  be  kept  damp,  and  not  allowed  to  dry  out  after  it  has  been  once 
irrigated;  the  water  should  be  used  judiciously  so  as  not  to  soak  the 
soil  and  keep  it  too  wet,  and  cultivation  should  frequently  be  done  to 
keep  the  moisture  near  the  plant. 

SOILS. 

The  sugar  beet  does  not  require  a  particular  kind  of  soil,  but  is  most 
grateful  for  a  deep,  fertile,  medium  sandy  loam  with  a  warm  subsoil. 
Above  all,  the  farmer  should  never  select  poor  land  for  sugar  beets, 
but  always  the  very  best  land  available  on  the  farm.  New  land  seldom 
produces  a  high  tonnage  of  beets,  and  should  be  avoided  if  possible. 
Land  should  have  been  at  least  two  years  under  cultivation,  and  if 
it  has  had  green-manure  crops  turned  under  so  much  the  better, 
especially  on  heavy  soils.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that  any  good 
land  which  will  produce  a  good  crop  of  corn,  wheat,  or  potatoes  will, 
under  proper  cultivation,  yield  a  good  crop  of  beets. 

There  are  certain  classes  of  .soils  that  should  always  he  avoided,  with 
a  beet  crop,  as  follows: 

(1)  Very  hard  clay,  or  "adobe,"  which  is  difficult  and  expensive  to 
work,  either  Avith  cultivator  or  hoe,  and  is  likely  to  be  "  cold,"  a  con- 
dition not  favorable  to  any  crop  and  particularly  undesirable  for  a 
beet  crop. 

(2)  Stony  soil,  which  is  not  only  difficult  to  work,  but  will  not  allow 
such  an  even  development  of  the  beets  as  to  form  as  is  necessary  for 
the  highest  quality  of  root.  Such  soil,  moreover,  is  incapable  of  hold- 
ing water,  which  is  necessary  to  produce  a  good  crop. 

(3)  Gravelly  soils,  which  are  still  less  able  to  hold  moisture,  and  for 
that  reason  are  unfit  for  beet  culture. 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


19 


(4)  Soils  so  sandy  that  they  are  blown,  as  the  first  strong  wind 
invariably  destroys  either  the  young  plants,  or  the  foliage  of  the  older 
ones. 

(5)  Muck  soils,  which  produce  a  watery  beet  of  low  quality. 

(6)  Soils  strongly  impregnated  with  alkali  in  the  "black'  form 
(carbonate    of    soda) 

or  as  common  salt; 
sodium  sulfate  is  not 
so  fatal  to  the  crop  as 
either  of  the  above. 

The  condition  of 
the  subsoil  has  much 
more  to  do  with  suc- 
cessful beet  produc- 
tion than  is  generally 
recognized.  For  in- 
stance, a  sandy  soil 
underlaid  with  gravel 
or  sand  will  be  quite 
unfit  for  successful 
beet  culture,  but  if 
the  same  soil  was  un- 
derlaid by  a  calcare- 
ous clay,  not  too  close 
to  the  top,  it  may  be 
very  well  adanted. 

Again,  it  must  be 
especially  r  e  m  e  in- 
hered that  hard,  im- 
penetrable subsoils 
within  two  feet  of  the 
surface  of  the  ground 
are  not  at  all  desir- 
able; for  the  sugar 
beet  must  embed  itself 
completely  in  the  soil, 
and  the  tap-root  go 
well  down  into  the 
subsoil  which  serves 
as  the  feeding  ground  for  the  root.  For  the  best  immediate  returns  a 
soil  of  medium  lightness,  friable,  permitting  of  ease  of  cultivation  and 
penetration,  should  be  selected.  There  has  often  been  a  tendency 
toward  light  sandy  soils  for  this  crop,  but  it  is  safer  to  lean  toward  the 
clay  loam  than  toward  the  sandy  loam  if  the  highest  tonnage  is  desired. 


FIG.  9.    Showing  root  system  of  sugar  beets. 


20 


UNIVERSITY  OP  CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


As  to  the  soils  used  for  beets  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  it  may  be 
said  that  generally  the  plantings  were  made  upon  soils  of  suitable 
nature.  The  larger  part  of  the  plantings  were  upon  sandy  loams.  A 
few  fields,  however,  were  undoubtedly  lost  from  planting  in  too  light 
soils,  especially  when  the  plantings  were  made  late.  The  earlier  planted 
beets  on  soils  so  light  as  to  be  moved  by  the  high  winds  were  mostly 
destroyed  by  being  cut  off,  after  which  the  hot  weather  generally  pre- 
vented the  recovery.  Quite  a  number  of  the  plantings  were  made  in  the 
vicinity  of  Turlock  on  subirrigated  soils  of  a  sandy  loam  character,  and 
all  of   the  earlier  planted  beets  in  the  soils  did  remarkably  well.     I 

believe  that  these  soils,  if  the  water-table 
is  some  four  feet  or  more  below  the  top 
of  the  ground,  are  extremely  desirable 
beet  soils.  Fig.  6  shows  a  field  grown 
upon  such  soils,  and  Fig.  10  the  general 
character  of  the  beets  upon  such  soils. 
These  beets  analyzed  as  follows:  sugar  in 
beet,  16.2  per  cent;  purity  of  juice,  90.2; 
and  their  yield  was  estimated  at  about  10 
tons  per  acre.  No  early-planted  field 
upon  such  soils  was  found  to  be  a  fail- 
ure, although  in  several  instances  the 
cultivation  which  had  been  given  the 
crop  was  far  from  good.  To  those  famil- 
iar with  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  it  will 
be  clear  that  there  are  thousands  of  acres 
suitable  for  beet  production,  and  guided 
by  the  cautions  previously  indicated, 
there  should  be  little  excuse  for  later 
error  along  the  line  of  soil  selection. 

FIG.  10.    Beets  from  subirrigated  land 

near  Turlock.  CONDITION    OF    SOIL. 

The  sugar  beet  needs  a  deeply-loosened, 
well-mellowed  soil,  uniformly  mixed,  and  offering  the  plant  easily  avail- 
able plant-food.  It  should  be  in  such  a  condition  that  the  air  may 
readily  penetrate  it  and  exert  its  ameliorating  effect.  The  soil  must 
be  made  free  from  weeds,  and  put  into  the  proper  condition  to  retain 
moisture,  as  well  as  to  dispose  of  a  too  large  amount  of  the  latter  into 
the  subsoil;  and  last,  but  not  least,  must  possess  a  surface  suitable  for 
embedding,  germinating,  and  growing  the  seed.  Many  cases  were  noted 
where,  had  all  other  conditions  been  favorable,  the  ultimate  outcome  of 
the  crop  would  have  been  unsatisfactory.  The  land  had  been  heavily 
scraped  in  order  to  grade  it  for  irrigating  an  alfalfa  crop,  several  inches 
of  the  topsoil  having  been    removed.     In    such   fields    the    effect   was 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


21 


immediately  noticeable  from  the  uneven  condition  of  the  crop,  even  in 
such  places  as  had  been  given  the  better  care.  Fig.  11  shows  fields  that 
had  been  thus  prepared.  In  this  connection  it  is  of  further  interest 
to  note  that  alfalfa  on  spots  thus  treated  in  the  same  locality  makes 
a  very  unsatisfactory  growth.  This  is  the  more  important  because  it 
has  been  so  widely  stated  that  such  scraping  can  be  done  with  impunity. 
The  evidence  of  the  beet  fields  in  numerous  cases  in  this  region,  as  well 
as  alfalfa  fields,  would  not  seem  to  bear  out  the  idea,  although  it  is 
possible  that  the  notably  poorer  growth  of  the  plants  on  these  spots 
may  have  been  due  to  a  poorer  physical  condition  of  the  soil  rather 
than  to  less  available  plant-food.  The  cases  were  certainly  too  numer- 
ous to  be  merely  accidental,  for  practically  every  field  examined  which 


^"j(B»SWsJ^S38 

."* ,     ■■ 

..■ 

■..'■■■ .  . 

-» 

FIG.  11.    Effect  of  planting  beets  upon  scraped  land. 

had  been  thus  treated  showed  the  difference  in  growth  in  a  very  marked 
manner. 

EFFECT    OF    "BLIGHT." 

The  so-called  "  beet  blight,"  which  appeared  first  to  any  noticeable 
extent  in  the  California  fields  in  1899  and  at  that  time  caused  serious 
loss  to  growers,  and  which  has  been  present  more  or  less  since  that  date 
in  nearly  all  the  sugar-beet-growing  sections  of  the  State,  was  reported 
to  have  caused  most  of  the  loss  in  the  section  under  consideration. 
Although  the  trouble  is  a  serious  one,  in  1899  and  in  1905  in  certain 
sections  causing  a  loss  of  from  50  to  100  per  cent  of  the  crop,  yet  a 
careful  examination  of  the  region  from  Salida  to  Turlock  failed  to  reveal 
any  very  large  amount  of  this  trouble.  There  are  certain  well-marked 
characteristics  of  the  so-called  " blight"  from  which  one  who  has  once 
become  familiar  with  it  can  hardly  be  mistaken  in  his  diagnosis  of  the 
trouble;  the  appearance  is  quite  distinct  from  that  of  plants  suffering 
either  from  drought  or  from  the  effect  of  alkali. 

In  "blighted"  beets  the  leaves  turn  yellow,  and  as  the  disease  pro- 
gresses the  leaves  continue  to  yellow  inward  toward  the  center,  the  very 
center  ones,  however,   remaining  green.     One   of  the  most  noticeable 


22  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

signs  of  the  trouble,  as  evidenced  by  the  appearance  of  the  top,  is  a 
curling  and  crumpling  of  the  leaves,  this  being  quite  characteristic,  the 
beets  and  foliage  are  very  much  dwarfed,  and  an  abundance  of  small 
lateral  roots  is  thrown  out,  as  well  as  an  exceedingly  large  number  of 
small  root  hairs,  which  are  often  mistaken  for  mold.  A  transverse 
section  of  the  affected  beet  shows  a  series  of  concentric  blackened 
rings  not  found  in  normal  beets,  which  blackening  may  also  often  be 
found  in  the  petioles  of  the  leaves,  and  from  these  dark  vessels  exudes 
a  very  bitter  liquid.  The  beets  ultimately  become  very  woody  in 
character.  At  the  crown  of  the  beets  is  often  found  a  hollow  spot, 
which  may  or  may  not  have  broken  through  to  the  exterior.  Frequently 
affected  beets  exude  a  gummy  fluid  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaf  petioles, 
although  this  is  not  always  present.  Upon  an  examination  of  many 
fields  and  of  hundreds  of  roots  no  large  number  of  such  beets  were 
found.  In  most  cases  the  plants  had  succumbed  to  the  extreme  condi- 
tions of  heat  and  drought  before  reaching  the  stage  at  which  this 
trouble  usually  makes  itself  apparent.  We  must  then  rule  this  out  as 
a  main  contributing  cause  of  failure. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

1.  That  the  general  climate  and  soil  conditions  of  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley  are  suitable  for  the  production  of  high-class  sugar  beets,  so  far 
as  sugar-content  and  purity  are  concerned. 

2.  That  satisfactory  tonnage  can  only  be  obtained  by  early  planting, 
which  will  enable  the  plants  to  grow  to  some  size  before  the  hot  weather 
of  the  summer  months  occurs. 

3.  That  the  results  will  be  very  unsatisfactory,  except,  perhaps,  in 
locally  subirrigated  soils,  unless  irrigation  be  practiced. 

4.  That  the  failure  of  the  plantings  of  1905  was  primarily  due  to  too 
late  planting  and  failure  to  properly  irrigate  the  crop. 

5.  Lesser  factors  contributing  to  the  failure  of  the  crop  in  1905  were, 
in  order  of  importance: 

(a)  Poor  preparation  of  the  soil. 

(b)  Poor  cultivation. 

(c)  So-called  "  beet  blight,"  which  was  more  or  less  prevalent  in 
nearly  all  parts  of  the  State. 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


23 


APPENDIX. 


In  Bulletin  No.  72  of  this  Station,  Dr.  E.  W.  Hilgard  treats  of  the 
first  experiments  with  sugar  beets,  and  says:  "  Preliminary  experiments 
to  test  the  feasibility  of  growing  good  sugar  beets  under  the  conditions 
of  the  Fresno  climate  have,  during  the  present  season,  been  made  by 
Mr.  M.  Denicke,  of  Fresno,"  the  seed  being  obtained  from  the  Alvarado 
factory. 

The  analyses  presented  are  as  follows: 

Analysis  of  Fresno  Sugar  Beets.     (1887.) 


Average 

Sugar 

Sown. 

Harvested. 

Weight, 
Ounces. 

Percent- 
age. 

Purity. 

Lot  1  A 

December 

May       27 

21 

10.1 

82.6 

LotlB 

December 

May       27 

24 

7.0 

70.O 

Lot2 

April    10—? 

June      26 

18 

10.5 

80.7 

Lot3 

March  15—? 

June      29 

22 

12.6 

82.0 

Lot  4 

(?) 

August   4 

25 

13.2 

75.3- 

"It  will  be  noted  that  the  average  of  the  first  three  lots  (leaving  out 
of  consideration  1  B)  is  11.1  per  cent  of  sugar,  with  a  purity  coefficient 
of  81.4;  they  are  therefore  quite  within  the  limits  stipulated  by  the 
sugar-maker.  As  for  lot  1  B,  the  fact  that  the  roots  had  begun  to  throw 
out  seed-stalks  shows  at  once  that  they  had  passed  beyond  the  limit 
within  which  the  crop  should  have  been  harvested.  I  conjecture  that  the 
growth  had  been  started  by  untimely  irrigation.  As  for  lot  4,  although 
it  shows  a  somewhat  higher  sugar  percentage  than  lot  3,  its  lower  purity 
coefficient  would  nevertheless  render  it  less  desirable  as  it  stands;  but 
the  appearance  of  the  roots  suggest,  in  this  case,  that  the  proper  time 
for  harvesting  had  passed  by. 

"Considering  that  the  persons  growing  these  beets  were  without  expe- 
rience in  the  premises;  that,  in  fact,  irrigation  had  never  before  been 
applied  to  the  production  of  sugar  beets,  and  that  the  right  time  and 
proper  amount  must  in  this  case  be  considered  equally  as  important  as  in 
the  case  of  wine  grapes,  the  results  obtained  are  exceedingly  encouraging."- 

Note. — In  the  light  of  later  experience  the  analyses  of  these  beets  as  they  stand  would 
not  indicate  beets  at  all  satisfactory  to  the  manufacturer,  except  so  far  as  purity  is  con- 
cerned. The  sugar-content  is  considerably  too  low.  As  intimated  by  Dr.  Hilgard,  this 
doubtless  arose  from  an  untimely  irrigation  of  the  beets,  although  there  is  no  indication 
of  the  time  of  irrigation.  We  now  know  that  irrigation  water  must  be  kept  away  from 
the  beet  at  least  three  weeks  previous  to  harvest  if  the  beets  are  to  reach  their  maximum, 
sugar-content. 


24 


UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA  — EXPERIMENT   STATION. 


No  further  analyses  of  beets  from  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  are  given 
in  the  Station  publications  until  the  Report  of  1891-92,  when  the 
following  analyses  were  reported  as  having  been  made  on  beets  grown 
at  the  substation  at  Tulare: 


Variety 


Average  Weight. 

Brix. 

Sugar  in 
Juice. 

Ash. 

Grams. 

Ounces. 

229.0 

8 

11.90 

6.68 

1.48 

292.0 

10 

12.80 

6.64 

1.90 

283.0 

10 

15.60 

11.68 

1.10 

294.0 

11 

13.45 

10.83 

1.21 

185.0 

7 

13.85 

9.72 

1.29 

Saline 
Coefficient. 


Florimond  Desprez 
Butteau  Desprez  .. 
Kleinwanzlebner.. 
Vilraorin  Desprez. 
Simon  Le  Grande.. 


4.50 
3.50 
10.60 
8.95 
7.54 


Speaking  of  the  quality  of  these  beets  the  report  says:  "In  all  these 
the  percentage  of  sugar  is  below  the  standard  of  12  per  cent  adopted  by 
the  factories.  *  *  *  The  Kleinwanzlebner  has  nearly  the  required 
sugar-content,  but  the  large  amount  of  solid  contents  (Brix)  reduces  it 
below  the  standard,  while  the  Vilmorin  Desprez,  though  lower  in  sugar, 
has  a  greater  degree  of  purity.  The  large  percentage  of  ash  is  doubt- 
less due  to  alkali  in  the  soil  in  which  they  were  planted." 

To  the  discussion  there  should  be  added  that  these  beets  would  be 
regarded  as  entirely  unfit  for  manufacturing  purposes,  and  unless  con- 
sidered in  the  light  of  the  evidently  unfavorable  conditions  under 
which  they  were  grown  would  be  used  as  evidence  against  the  industry. 
They  are  too  small  to  be  profitable  for  the  grower;  they  have  too  low 
sugar-content  for  the  manufacturer,  and  their  high  ash  would  render 
that  sugar  very  difficult  of  extraction.  I  believe  they  should  be  ex- 
cluded as  evidence  either  for  or  against  the  industry  as  they  were  grown 
under  such  extremely  unfavorable  conditions  as  regards  soil.  There  is 
such  an  abundance  of  soil  well  adapted  to  the  sugar  beet  that  it  would 
be  manifestly  unfair  to  use  these  analyses  as  having  any  bearing  upon 
the  success  of  the  industry  if  the  beets  are  placed  in  the  proper  kind  of 
soil. 

That  it  is  possible  to  grow  beets  of  satisfactory  sugar-content  in  the 
same  section  is  shown  by  an  analysis  of  beets  grown  by  W.  F.  Stuart, 
five  miles  southwest  of  Tulare,  made  in  the  same  year:* 

Average  weight,  in  grams 309.00 

Brix 21.40 

Sugar  in  j  uice 16.20 

Purity . : 75.70 

Ash  of  juice 1.06 

Saline  coefficient ... ..  .      15.28 

This  beet  would  evidence  that  the  climate  is  not  fatal  to  sugar  pro- 
duction, if  the  beets  are  placed  under   reasonably  good  soil   condition. 

*  Report  of  California  Experiment  Station,  1891-92. 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 


25 


The  purity,  however,  is  low — too  low  for  a  desirable  factory  beet,  and 
the  beets  are  too  small  to  make  them  profitable.  On  the  whole,  how- 
ever, the  sample  must  be  considered  acceptable  from  the  factory  stand- 
point, although  a  factory  would  doubtless  accept  but  few  beets  with 
such  a  low  purity. 

In  the  report  of  1894-95  are  presented  analyses  of  two  varieties  of 
beets  grown  at  the  U.  S.  Experiment  Station,  each  being  harvested  at 
two  different  dates: 


Rec'd. 

Average  Weight. 

Brix. 

Sugar. 

Purity. 

Saline 

Variety. 

Grams. 

Ounces. 

Ash. 1  Coeffi- 
cient. 

Knauer's  Imperial 

Dippe's  Kleinwanzlebner 

Knauer's  Imperial ... 

Dippe's  Kleinwanzlebner 

Dec.  15 
Dec.  15 
Feb.   6 
Feb.   6 

900 
800 
540 
540 

31 

28 
18 

18 

17.30 
16.10 
17.70 
16.60 

14.39 
13.56 
14.22 
14.08 

82.60 

84.22 
80.34 
84.79 

.71 
.62 
.67 
.57 

20.67 
21.71 
21.08 
24.70 

These  beets  show  acceptable  percentages  of  sugar  and  good  purity 
conditions.  The  fact  that  the  beets  were  in  the  ground  for  so  long  a 
time  without  apparent  deterioration  would  seem  to  indicate  an  unusual 
condition,  but  one  that  it  would  be  unsafe  to  depend  upon  without  con- 
siderable further  experiment.  The  size  of  the  beets  was  most  desirable, 
and  the  entire  results  of  this  series  of  analyses  must  be  regarded  as 
favorable,  so  far  as  quality  of  beets  is  concerned. 

In  the  report  of  1896-97  several  analyses  of  beets  from  this  valley 
were  reported: 

San  Joaquin  County. 


Serial 
No. 

Planted. 

Harvested. 

Average  Weight. 

Brix. 

Sugar. 

Purity. 

Ash. 

Saline 
Coefficient. 

GTHrms. 

Ounces. 

48 

Mar.  12  ... 

July  22  .. 

535 

•    18.8 

11.00 

7.68 

69.77 

.83 

9.25 

86 

Mar.  12  ... 

July  22  .. 

585 

20.6 

13.08 

10.87 

83.10 

.62 

17.37 

87 

Mar.  28  ... 

Aug.  31  .. 

442 

15.5 

14.48 

13.14 

90.74 

.60 

21.90 

88 

Apr.    9... 

Aug.  31  -. 

527 

18.5 

16.10 

13.93 

86.52 

.63 

22.11 

89 

Apr.  23  ... 

Aug.  31  .. 

616 

2L.6 

13.00 

11.07 

85.15 

.72 

15.37 

128 

Mar.  12  ... 

Oct.      6._ 

405 

14.2 

11.70 

10.14 

86.66 

.47 

21.57 

129 

Mar.  28  ... 

Oct,     6  .. 

377 

•  13.2 

16.20 

14.88 

91.85 

.63 

23.62 

130 

Apr.    9... 

Oct.      6  .. 

580 

20.4 

15.90 

14.42 

90.69 

.72 

24.29 

131 

Apr.  23  ... 

Oct.      6- 

435 

15.3 

15.70 

14.44 

91.99 

.57 

25.33 

Merced  County. 


139 

945 
1,255 

33.2 
44.1 

18.20 
14.70 

15.86 
12.57 

87.16 
85.51 

.57 
.56 

27.82 

140 

22.26 

Tulare  County. 


133 
134 


Mar.  15 


Oct.     3  .. 


437 
745 


15.4 
26.2 


16.30 
12.70 


14.98 
11.16 


91.90 
87.19 


.51 

.86 


29.37 
12.97 


26 


UNIVERSITY   OP   CALIFORNIA  —  EXPERIMENT   STATION. 


An  examination  of  the  above  table  shows  good  beets  in  all  three  of 
the  counties,  especially  is  this  the  case  when  we  consider  the  high 
purities  shown.  Nos.  129,  130,  and  131  would  be  considered  as  excellent 
for  factory  purposes  because  of  acceptable  sugar-content  and  remarkably 
high  purity  of  juice.  The  same  may  also  be  said  of  No.  139  from 
Merced  County  and  of  No.  133  from  Tulare.  No.  48  was  undoubtedly 
immature.  Nothing  is  stated  as  to  the  conditions  under  which  these 
beets  were  grown.  Especially  would  it  be  desirable  to  know  the  last 
date  on  which  they  were  irrigated,  if  irrigation  was  practiced.*  Con- 
sidering the  high  purity  of  the  juice  none  of  these  samples,  except 
No.  48,  would  have  been  rejected  by  a  factory,  although  the  sugar  is 
lower  than  is  desirable.  However,  this  must  not  be  looked  upon  as 
fatal  to  the  culture  of  the  beets  in  these  regions,  because  there  are  so 
many  conditions  of  culture  and  land  that  may  have  been  responsible 
for  this  condition,  and  especially  must  this  be  borne  in  mind  since 
some  of  these  beets,  notably  Nos.  129,  139,  and  133,  show  satisfactory 
sugar  as  well  as  exceptional  purity. 

In  the  Report  of  1897-98  are  reported  analyses  of  six  samples,  as 
follows : 


Received  From. 

Average  Weight. 

Sugar. 

Purity. 

Ash. 

Sn  line 

iNo. 

Grams. 

Ounces. 

Brix. 

Coefficient. 

330 
420 
421 
422 
423 
424 

Famoso,  Kern  County  . 
Visalia,  Tulare  County. 
Visalia,  Tulare  County . 
Visalia,  Tulare  County 
Visalia,  Tulare  County. 
Visalia,  Tulare  County 

Average.       

1,000 

784 
784 
735 
854 
607 

35.2 
27.6 
27.6 
25.8 
30.0 
21.3 

12.90 
10.70 
15.60 
12.70 
11.50 
12.90 

6.91 

6.30 

11.85 

8.42 
7.50 
9.72 

53.56 
58.87 
76.00 
66.21 
65.21 
73.35 

1.07 
.97 
.86 
.96 
.93 
.76 

6.45 
6.49 

13.78 

8.77 

8.06 

12.78 

794 

27.6 

12.71 

8.45 

65.53 

.92 

9.38 

As  to  No.  330  the  showing  is  exceedingly  poor,  but  Professor  Jaffa 
says,  "The  cause  of  this  low  rating  is  due  partially  to  the  large  size,f 
.and  also  to  the  too  early  harvesting  of  the  beets."  From  a  practical 
standpoint,  however,  of  either  factory  or  grower  these  beets  would  not 
be  regarded  as  too  large,  but  the  fact  that  they  were  harvested  before 
maturity  should  rule  them  out  of  consideration  as  having  any  bearing 
on  the  subject  under  consideration. 

The  results  obtained  from  the  Visalia  beets  are  not  at  all  encouraging 
as  they  stand  "  and  as  these  same  varieties  have  yielded  excellent 
returns  elsewhere  it  would  appear  that  either  the  soil  in  which  they 
were  grown  was  not  adapted  to  the  sugar  beet  (perhaps  contained  too 

*  It  has  been  ascertained  since  writing  the  above  that  these  beets  were  irrigated 
about  the  middle  of  September,  which  in  itself  would  be  sufficient  to  explain  the  low 
sugar-content. 

t  These  beets  would  not  be  regarded  as  too  large  for  factory  purposes  and  are  about 
right  for  the  grower.— G.  W.  S. 


SUGAR  BEETS  IN  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  V ALLEY. 


27 


much  alkali),  or  that  proper  attention  was  not  given  to  them  after 
cultivation,  etc."  No  cultural  data  appear,  therefore  it  is  entirely 
impracticable  to  draw  conclusions  of  value  from  this  series  of  analyses. 

The  following  analyses  were  published  in  the  report  of  1898-1901: 

No.  433.  Sugar  beets  from  Boyce's  ranch,  near  Woodbridge,  San 
Joaquin  County;  sent  by  J.  E.  Culp.  Received  in  good  condition  on 
August  16,  1898. 

No.  437.  Sugar  beets  from  Lodi,  San  Joaquin  County;  harvested  Sep- 
tember 7,  and  received  at  the  laboratory  in  good  condition  September 
10,  1898. 

Nos.  459,  460.  Sugar  beets  from  Visalia,  Tulare  County;  sent  by  A.  G. 
Wisben.  Received  in  good  condition  on  February  4  and  March  17, 
1900,  respectively;  having  been  harvested  the  day  previous  to  the  date 
of  arrival  in  each  case. 


County. 

Average  Weight. 

Juice. 

Purity. 

Ash. 

Saline 

No. 

Grams. 

Ounces. 

Brix. 

Sugar. 

Coeffi- 
cient. 

433 

San  Joaquin    

392 
187 
405 
369 

13.8 

6.6 

14.2 

12.9 

18.00 

14.98 

83.21 
77.52 
69.12 
76.90 

.67 

.80 

.94 

1.00 

22.3 

437 
459 
460 

San  Joaquin _. 

Tulare 

Tulare 

14.90 
15.80 
14.00 

11.55 
10.90 
10.76 

14.4 
11.6 
10.7 

Again  we  find  a  good  sample  in  No.  433,  but  to  judge  from  the  analy- 
sis alone  one  would  pronounce  No.  437  as  either  unripe  or  to  have  been 
subjected  to  a  second  growth  from  irrigation. 

Nos.  459  and  460  should  not  be  considered  as  having  any  bearing  in 
the  question  of  successful  sugar-beet  culture,  and  are  here  included 
only  for  the  sake  of  making  the  records  of  analyses  complete. 


STATION  PUBLICATIONS  AVAILABLE  FOR  DISTRIBUTION. 


REPORTS. 


1896.  Report   of    the    Viticultural    Work    during    the   seasons    1887-93,    with    data 

regarding  the  Vintages  of  1894-95. 

1897.  Resistant   Vines,    their    Selection,   Adaptation,    and   Grafting.      Appendix    to 

Viticultural  Report  for  1896. 

1898.  Partial  Report  of  Work  of  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  for  the  years 

1895-96  and  1896-97. 
1900.     Report  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  for  the  year  1897-98. 

1902.  Report  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  for  1898-1901. 

1903.  Report  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  for  1901-1903. 

1904.  Twenty-second  Report  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  for  1903-1904. 

BULLETINS. 

Reprint.  Endurance  of  Drought  in  Soils  of  the  Arid  Region. 

No.  128.  Nature,  Value,  and  Utilization  of  Alkali  Lands,  and  Tolerance  of  Alkali. 
(Revised  and  Reprint,  1905.) 

131.  The  Phylloxera  of  the  Vine. 

133.  Tolerance  of  Alkali  by  Various  Cultures. 

135.  The  Potato-Worm  in  California. 

137.  Pickling   Ripe  and  Green   Olives. 

138.  Citrus  Fruit  Culture. 

139.  Orange  and  Lemon  Rot. 

140.  Lands  of  the  Colorado  Delta  in  Salton  Basin,  and  Supplement. 

141.  Deciduous  Fruits  at  Paso  Robles. 

142.  Grasshoppers  in  California. 

143.  California  Peach-Tree  Borer. 

144.  The  Peach- Worm. 

145.  The  Red  Spider  of  Citrus  Trees. 

146.  New  Methods  of  Grafting  and  Budding  Vines. 

147.  Culture  Work  of  the  Substations. 

148.  Resistant  Vines  and  their  Hybrids. 

149.  California  Sugar  Industry. 

150.  The  Value  of  Oak  Leaves  for  Forage. 

151.  Arsenical  Insecticides. 

152.  Fumigation  Dosage. 

153.  Spraying  with  Distillates. 

154.  Sulfur  Sprays  for  Red  Spider. 

155.  Directions  for  Spraying  for  the  Codling-Moth. 

156.  Fowl  Cholera. 

157.  Commercial  Fertilizers. 

158.  California  Olive  Oil ;   its  Manufacture. 

159.  Contribution  to  the  Study  of  Fermentation. 

160.  The  Hop  Aphis. 

161.  Tuberculosis  in  Fowls.      (Reprint.) 

162.  Commercial  Fertilizers.      (Dec.  1,  1904.) 

163.  Pear  Scab. 

164.  Poultry  Feeding  and  Proprietary  Foods.      (Reprint.) 

165.  Asparagus  and  Asparagus  Rust  in  California. 

166.  Spraying  for  Scale  Insects. 

167.  Manufacture  of  Dry  Wines  in  Hot  Countries. 

168.  Observations  on  Some  Vine  Diseases  in  Sonoma  County. 

169.  Tolerance  of  the  Sugar  Beet  for  Alkali. 

170.  Studies  in  Grasshopper  Control. 

171.  Commercial  Fertilizers.      (June  30,  1905.) 

172.  Further  Experience  in  Asparagus  Rust  Control. 

173.  Commercial  Fertilizers.      (December.  1905.) 

174.  A   New  Wine-Cooling  Machine. 

175.  Tomato  Diseases  in  California. 

CIRCULARS. 

No.  1.  Texas  Fever.  No.  13.     The  Culture  of  the  Sugar  Beet. 

2.  Blackleg.  14.     Practical    Suggestions   for   Cod- 

3.  Hog  Cholera.  ling-Moth      Control      in      the 

4.  Anthrax.  Pajaro  Valley. 

5.  Contagious  Abortion  in  Cows.  15.  Recent  Problems  in  Agriculture. 
7.  Remedies  for  Insects.  What  a  University  Farm  is 
9.  Asparagus  Rust.  For. 

10.  Reading    Course    in    Economic  16.     Notes  on   Seed- Wheat. 

Entomology.  17.     Why     Agriculture     Should     be 

11.  Fumigation  Practice.  Taught  in  the  Public  Schools. 

12.  Silk  Culture. 

Copies  may  be  had  by  application  to  the  Director  of  the  Experiment 
Station,  Berkeley,  California. 


